Happy International Women's Day - a day for us girls to celebrate each other, everything we have accomplished, and everything we can achieve in an ever changing world. There are so many people I could name as inspirational - the suffragettes, Paloma Faith, Marie Curie, Michelle Obama, Marilyn Monroe, Coco Chanel to name a few - or closer to home, my mum, grandma, best friend. But today I thought I would talk about a slightly different female role model who is precious to me.
Ever since my uncle bought me The BFG as a young girl, I've been a big fan of Roald Dahl. The man who was born just 5 minutes away from where I live, was a genuis. For me, he wrote some of the most imaginative and magical stories around, and he created some of my favourite characters that even today as an adult, I love to escape with. The Witches, Charlie, Matilda, The Twits, James... I love spending time with them all.
I love to read. My fiction of choice is usually a gritty crime thriller that keeps me guessing until the last few pages. But back in 2000 I discovered the first book in the shopaholics series, The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella, and I immediately fell in love with the heroine, Becky Bloomwood.